Threat at Grand Co. school result of joke made by student

MOAB, Utah (ABC4) — Moab City Police said on social media Tuesday morning a threat at a Grand County school had been making rounds, but after an investigation, they deemed it as not credible.

Police said the threat was “a joke made by a student,” but the school was instructed to “hold in place” during the investigation. The school was not immediately named by police or the school district.

The hold-in-place has since been lifted, and officials stated there was no danger to students and staff.

The incident in Grand County marks the third threat ABC4.com has reported within a week throughout the state. Canyons School District and Uintah School District both went on lockdowns with threats circulating online. Police in both districts deemed those threats as not credible.

The threat in the Canyons School District involved a screenshot of an alleged text conversation between two students where one stated that they were going to bring a gun to school.

Dr. Rick Robins, the Canyons District Superintendent , said in an email to parents that the threat was unsubstantiated but understands the concerns it raises.

The Uintah School District experienced a similar threat last Tuesday when a student reported a text message from an unrecognized number at Uintah Middle School to a school administrator. That resulted in the district calling for a district-wide lockdown until the alleged sender could be identified.

The student who sent the text was said to be a Vernal Middle School student. That case was sent to juvenile court.

According to a report from the Educator’s School Safety Network, false reports made up 29.5% of school violence incidents last year. Gun-related incidents made up 27.6%.

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